1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for simulating replacement of image forming apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a service to analyze output conditions of image forming apparatuses installed in a customer's office and to make a proposal on the performances, number, and arrangement of image forming apparatuses that are appropriate for the customer based on the analysis. One method for providing the service includes installing a new image forming apparatus in a customer's office as a test, comparing output conditions of an existing image forming apparatus with those of the new image forming apparatus, and calculating the expected reduction of processing time and cost.
However, this method may be time-consuming and troublesome due to the need to install an actual machine as a test.
There is a technique to simulate an installation area so as to efficiently use image forming apparatuses based on the usage status of existing image forming apparatuses.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-289642 discusses a method to make an analysis based on usage records acquired from multifunction peripherals, information of users who use the multifunction peripherals, and location information of client devices, and to calculate an optimal arrangement rate of the multifunction peripherals. In this method, an optimal installation location which minimizes user's operating time and moving distance is analyzed by calculating an optimal arrangement rate when the locations of the multifunction peripherals are changed. Then, the installation location is displayed on an office layout.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-005943 discusses a method to calculate an expected processing time of a printer for a print job using a standard processing time for a print job. This method uses, as the standard processing time for a print job, for example, a processing time for the first page and a processing time for the second and subsequent pages when an output destination printer name, color mode, paper size, and N-up are used as an index.
In the above-mentioned service which proposes image forming apparatuses suitable for a user, it is also very important to show advantages when replacing an existing image forming apparatus by an image forming apparatus having different performances.
However, in the above-mentioned conventional methods, an analysis of a case where an existing image forming apparatus is replaced by an image forming apparatus having different performances cannot be performed. Information which can be acquired from the existing image forming apparatus cannot be directly used to show the advantages when replacing an existing image forming apparatus by an image forming apparatus having different performances. For example, a processing time to be shortened must be calculated even for the same processing.
However, since an actual processing speed of an image processing apparatus depends on characteristics (the number and complexity of characters, graphics, and the like) of the original document to be actually processed, the user environment must also be considered in addition to product specifications.
In addition, in an image forming apparatus simulation, it is more effective if a simulation in which a number of new image forming apparatuses having different performances and functions are installed instead of existing image forming apparatuses can be performed. In such a case, a tendency of criterion with which the user usually selects and uses image forming apparatuses needs to be reflected in the simulation.